MISCELLANEOUS. 185 



on the west to North-West India on the east(*). It has often proved most destruc- 

 tive in Algeria and has generally been supposed to be the locust of the Bible ; but it 

 must not be confounded, either with the locust which has appeared in Algeria 

 during the past three years (1887, 1888, and 1889), and which belongs to the species 

 Staitronotus maroceanus, or with the locust which invaded the Deccan in 1882-83, 

 though the latter insect was often erroneously referred to as Acridium pere- 

 grinumft). 



Plights of locusts appeared in June 1889 in Sind, and by September had. spread 

 over the whole province, from Shikarpur to Karachi. In the beginning of August 

 voting locusts were observed by Surgeon-Major Hendley in Marwar, between 

 Didwana and Sambrntr; these had, no doubt, hatched from eggs laid by winged 

 swarms about the end of June, ami therefore show that winged swarms were present 

 in Marwar about the same time that they appeared in Sind. In September 

 flights appeared first in Mooltan and afterwards in Dehra. Ismail Khan ; they were 

 also found in Ulwar, Kishengurh, Jeypore, Sirohi, and in Ahmedabad. (£) In 

 October, besides maintaining themselves throughout Sind, Rajputana, Mooltan, 

 and Ahmedabad, they penetrated south into Baroda and Khandesh. In November 

 tbey reached, on the South-West Guzerat, and on the North-East Banda, Jhansi, 

 Agra,, Cawnpore, Etawah, Bareilly, and Bahraich. During December tbey conti- 

 nued to spread over the North-West Provinces, reaching Rae Bareilly, Fatehgarh, 

 and Naini Tal ; they also penetrated southwards as far as the Goona Agency in 

 Central India, besides being reported from Rajputana as before. In January 

 1890, flights were reported from Lahore, Muzaffargarh, Rawalpindi, Ferozepur, 



(*) Locusts passed over the British India Steam Navigation ship Golconda on 

 November 25th, 1889, when off the great Haraish Islands in southern portion of the 

 Red Sea (Nature). Also ever the Peninsular and Oriental ship Clyde about the 

 same time. They were noticed to be reddish in colour, and consequently likely to 

 have been Acridium peregrinum. In 1869, also, the year of a great invasion in Rajpu- 

 tana of a locust which was probably Acridium peregrinum, locusts were noticed in 

 great numbers in the Red Sea (Swinhoe). It would, therefore, be interesting to 

 ascertain to what extent 1889 and 1859 were years of locust invasion in the inter - 

 vening countries of Arabia, Fersia, Baluchistan, &c. 



(t) It is particularly necessary to distinguish carefully between the Deccan locust 

 of 1882-83 and the Rajputana locust of 1889, as there are important differences in 

 habits of the two species which make it that measures applicable for the destruction 

 of the one are not always suited to the other. 



(X) Locusts were reported from Ahmedabad as early as July ; it is doubtful, how- 

 ever, whether the first that appeared belong to the migratory swarms of Acridium 

 peregrinum ; no specimens have been obtained for examination, but specimens that 

 were forwarded, as the locust which did injury to crops in Kathiawar in August, 

 proved on examination to belong to a species which has been determined by Dr 

 Henri de Sau3sure as Rien colesiana (de Sanssure) ; this fotally 



distinct from Acridium peregrinum and is thought to be of purely local origin. 

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